Pandemic championships

 When Sports returned without fans, we knew things would be different.  Most every sport outside of football is in some kind of bubble and without fans or fans at a reduced capacity.  Having socially distianced sports is better than nothing but makes for some interesting made for T.V events.  When the U.S Open, tennis tournament crowned their champions we got a taste of what playing and winning a championship during a pandemic would be like.  There were no people on the grounds at the tennis center and no tunnel of sound ringing down on the eventual champion, just some staff members and coaches.  I watched a lot of this tournament and I felt that they could have done more, can someone say virtual fans projected on a cyclorama in the biggest tennis stadium in the world.  Inside Arthur Ashe stadium there were just a couple video boards that would switch between virtual fans and other messages.  When Lebron and the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship, in the Orlando bubble last month things seemed better planned out.  There were virtual fans, some teams chants and scoreboard messages so although you weren't in the teams home arenas on television this was close.  Some family was able to witness the championship, on site but they weren't staying with the players.  Baseball is hosting most of its playoffs and eventual World Series in one of two bubbles, the American League playoffs have been in Southern California and the National League and World Series have been in Texas.  MLB is still in the midst of its Championship Series and one in San Diego California is being played without fans but in Texas they have some fans and although the fans and wearing masks and are under strict covid-19 rules it feels more natural to have real people not just cardboard cutouts in the stands.  The World Series which will be played at Globe Life Park in Arlington Texas will also host fans, at a reduced capacity and will no doubt add a little something to an otherwise empty ballpark.  Having fans in seats at about 30% capacity cannot replicate a screaming capacity crowd.  After seeing spots crown champions with no fans and then virtual fans we'll see what baseball looks like, it's better than nothing which has been a theme this year.  Being in bubbles is hard on players and families, when not playing it probably feels a little like prison with having to follow all the covid-19 guidelines and then your separated from loved ones but championships are still sweet.                    

Another Yankee exit... Yankee postmortem

 Back in June we were told sports were coming back, in different formats.  In July that became reality, singling some sense of normalcy.  

The Yankees made it through Summer Camp, the strange 60 game MLB season and the Wild Card round of the playoffs with no Coronavirus cases but a very up and down season and once again an early playoff exit.  Although this team has been making postseason runs, Failing to win the World Series (in Yankee land your conditioned to believe it's World Series or bust) and reloading, that is not how it's done.  The Yankees need to find their core to build around.  Garrett Cole is proving to be a horse on the pitching staff and for nine years and $350 + million he should be.  Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela are nice players but they haven't really had that Yankee moment.  Brett Gardner is a fine player but his career is winding down.  Giancarlo Stanton is now a DH who is only healthy six weeks a year.  Aaron Judge is one of the few players you can build around but he has had injury problems as well.  Back when the Yankees were winning championships in the 90's they had the core four.  This team needs guys they can count on, on the big stage and can make a name for themselves in the postseason.  

In the offseason, might look a little different with possible money losses and Covid, the Yankees have some decisions to make.  First of all please sign DJ LeMahieu who was the AL batting champ this season.  I would bring back Gardner for another year, he still has some pop while being a good 4th or 5th outfielder.  The team needs some pitching behind Cole and the emergence of Devi Garcia.  Tanaka, Happ and Paxton are free agents, these guys can be good when they are on and healthy, you probably don't need to sign all three, i'd bring Paxton and Happ back.  Can we please trade Gary Sanchez, he came up with all this hype but despite his catching fixes he's a liability back there and I hate his new style with one knee down.  Gary as a hitter is very streaky.  They also have a option on manager Aaron Boone who I've never looked at as a multiple championship manager but he has guided us to the playoff every year since he's been here which includes this strange 2020 although in a normal year with five playoff teams in each league it might have been harder), you pick up the option and give him another shot.  This not my usual upbeat Yankee post, I was not confident in them throughout the season they enter the offseason with work to do in order to become the Yankee team we enjoy watching.  We'll see what the long cold offseason has in store.                      

Can we play baseball... please

Millionaires vs. Billionaires
If Major League Baseball had all of their ducks in a row, they could've been one of the first leagues back after the coronavirus shutdown, instead their going to be one of the last.  Last week, commissioner Rob Manfred came out at said 100% there would be a baseball season and then this week being the spokesperson for the owners that he is backtracked and said he couldn't say 100%.  Both sides have been in stalemate for weeks, with the players wanting the 100% prorated salary that they were promised in March and the owners, who are going to lose money with empty stadiums saying no we don't have to agree to that.  Hopefully for the people who want to see baseball this year that was just a bluff by Manfred (who works for the owners) and the owners to stall until they can only play the number of games that makes sense to them.  The commissioner can with a little negotiation impose a season (48ish games).  I am still hopeful that there will still, probably be a 2020 MLB season, we just have to get both sides talking.  Get Manfred (owners) and Tony Clark (players) to Palm Spring or any social distancing place to negotiate face to face and hash this thing out.  At this point we need someone to do what justice Sonia Sotomayor did to end the strike in 95' and bring the two sides together, maybe someone like a Randy Levine is that person.  As I sat down to write this I heard the two sides did have a face to face meeting and their is a new proposal.  Will the players get more games so that they can get more prorated money or will the owners impose less so that they don't have to play in to November.  I believe there is a deal to be struck here, I don't know when but even though the season got shut down before any revenue sources such as national television contracts could be tapped into, there is postseaseason money, expanded money maybe.  The MLB is losing fans by the day and it will not get better without a deal.             

Sports... where we stand on the major 4

If your like me you're dying for something live, like sports on television.  This time of year we're used to crowing champions in basketball and hockey and watching baseball (boys of summer) all summer long... This year we'll have to wait but hopefully not to long. 
Today the NBA announced plans to restart their season at the end of July, when Disney opens.  Basketball will be back with a modified season, including 22 of 30 teams and then head into the playoffs, after playing eight regular season games amongst the teams within six games of a playoff spot.  Their bubble will be at Walt Disney World, which helps both parties.  Basketball will set up shop at disney where players and teams can be isolated without fans.  All playoff rounds will continue to be a  best of seven and run from 7/31-9/31.  What I haven't heard from the NBA is anything about testing.  Also today the NHL announced a plan with 24 teams, all of whom enter a best of five game qualifing tournanment before being seated for the playoffs.  Hockey would probaly have two bubble cities, one for the eastern conference and one for the western conference, I am hearing vesgas.  More information will be forthcoming on this plan including specifics on testing, hub cities and rule adjustments.  Two leagues are back, next up is baseball, baseball does not have a deal yet but I for one am still holding out hope.  Unlike the NBA and NHL the relationship between the MLB owners and players is not great, maybe even frosty.  Baseball players and owners are looking more and more petty, everyday they don't have a deal.  Millionares and Billionares argueing about dollars and cents at a time when many americans are loosing jobs or getting furloughed, many won't stand for this.  Baseball is already losing fans and not playing or potentially loosing a son will not help.  Time is running out (for a legegiment season which I consider over 80 games)   players want about a three week traing camp and if we're going to have professional baseball by July fourth they betteer get busy, I hope to roll over one day and see an announcement of a basball season.  One league that will play it's just a question of with fans or with out is the NFL.                 
All these leagues are coming back at least at first without fans.  We're awase away from sports with fan in this country, do we need a cure for this virus first, thats going to be awhile or can we cheat and gradgually build of attendance.  in any case people are going to have to start taking risks not just in sports but in life, in order to get back to some semblace of normalcy. We have aways taken risks in life and I realize is't a new normal but we all have to push the boundries again or we'll be locked in our houses for years.   

XFL

When the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic began the XFL suspended it’s inaugural season.  The newest competition to the NFL played just five games before shutting down all operations.  The league had a handful of recognizable players and it's eight teams were housed in either former MLB or current NFL stadiums.  Weeks after suspending, the league laid off all it's employees and filed for bankruptcy, making a return of any kind all but impossible.  This was the second coming of the XFL and the latest failed attempt to compete with the NFL (joining the first XFL and last year's football alliance).  The first incarnation of the league took extreme to the next level relying on professional wrestling inspired gimmicks with all out mallees for the kick off and mic’d up players, this time it was a lot more tame with fewer gimmicks and relied on simpler, faster football, with some new rules thrown in.  This time the league had what seemed like a good financial model and a vision for an initial three year run with a television contract of the same length.  the XFL's viability was I always believed was in doubt and this global situation did not help.  It takes a lot to compete against the NFL you need a lot of money with a strong financial backing, you need recognizable players and probably backing from an established league or figure head.  I love the sport of football in it's fall season, I don't think spring football works.  In the spring your competing against the Super Bowl, NCAA basketball, Golf and baseball.  In a couple years another group will try unsuceffily to launch another football league.                     

Lets start sports... not so fast

As I sit here in house quarantine on day 20 something, I think a sense of normality would be good for everybody.  When the sports leagues that were in season (NBA and NHL) and baseball which was towards the end of Spring Training started shutting down on March 13, some including the sports leagues thought the stoppage would be a week or two.  Well it's more than two weeks and no end in sight.  As much as we need to have sports back to help heal the country and provide a welcome distraction from what we're going through and will go through as we go back to life.  Before anything happens the medical community has to be on board.  Every sports league has been thinking outside the box as to how to get there respective leagues up and running.  Most major sports leagues have insurance policies for instances like this but that doesn't help the little guy.  How do we get sports up and running in a safe and economically feasible way.  Until testing for the Coronavirus (Covid-19) is widely available it won't happen.  The leagues have proposed putting all of their teams in some sort of biosphere.     
Golf cancelled the British Open, Open Championship scheduled for July, so far that is the only major cancelled.  The Masters has been rescheduled for November, the U.S Open is now scheduled for September and the P.G.A is scheduled for August.  The Kentucky Derby will take place in September.  I believe tennis has moved a few events and NASCAR is promising to reschedule.  The WNBA season has yet to begin but they have a little bit of wiggle room due to the Olympics being rescheduled.   
The NHL and NBA are kind of in the same boat, as they were finishing up their regular seasons and heading towards the playoffs.  In the beginning both leagues vowed to finish their seasons have the playoffs and award the championship trophy.  The NBA has proposed putting all of their teams in Vegas and somewhere else to finish, they have also talked about cancelling the season.  While the NBA is having talks about what to do with the season, the NHL is having the same discussions.  The NHL has proposed putting all of the teams in North Dakota amongst others to finish the season or not finish the season, they've talked about just starting the playoffs.  These leagues have to advantage of playing in arenas so wherever they end up playing, they can possibly play into August. 
Baseball who's regular season had not yet started at the time of the stoppage, their were about two weeks left in spring training.  At the beginning of the week the MLB reported that they were working on a plan to put all the teams in Arizona to play an abbreviated season at the Spring Training sites there and Chase field.  This Arizona plan had the medical community on board which is probably the most important thing in this unique situation but from a baseball standpoint there were things left to be desired.  To take every major leaguer away from his family for 2-4 months or whatever it ends up being, takes some commitment especially from the veterans who have families.  The younger generation of players will be happy to do this, they'll go play on a diamond at the park for fun and a paycheck.  Also it is very hot in Arizona during the summer which would mess with conditioning.  Players and umpires would break down faster than you thought possible and the quality of this beautiful game would suffer.  You would have to have 40 man rosters with at least 15 pitchers for this to work.  They were also talking about seven inning doubleheaders (like college), I would be fine with this as long as it's only for doubleheaders and we get nine in every other time.  There is a lot to work out if this Arizona plan is going to work.  The plan I heard about later puts in Spring Training sites might be a little more feasible.  Under this plan the American and National Leagues would be combined into the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues (Spring Training leagues), we would still have divisions with some interesting divisional matchups (Yankees and Phillies, Athletics and Cubs).  Players would still have to leave their families but there's some normalcy here, with playing at your Spring Training site.  The Spring Training plan yet quirky is more feasible, at least we have two leagues and can have representative World Series.  Just today I heard a report from a news source about playing in Japan.
Whatever any sports league decides to do, it's going to be a strange situation.  When leagues come back their might not be fans, neutral sites, announcers might be different.  Who would have thought that we would be in this situation, not that we underestimated the Coronavirus (Covid-19) but I don't think many people envisioned the country shutting down.  I'll say it again Sports provide a distraction from whatever your dealing with, you can sit down and watch a game for three and a half hours so hopefully we get some form of live sports soon.                                     

  

Sports movies

Let's talk about some sports movies that I have seen today.  These are some of my favorite sports movies, not necessarily in order.

1.  Field of Dreams- I love this movie Kevin Costner's character Ray Kinsella reunites with his father through baseball by following mysterious voices while working in his corn field
2.  Major league- The Charlie Scheen "Wild Thing" character is fascinating along with Bob Uecker over the PA 
3.  Rudy- A scrappy young kid determined to play in a Notre Dame game as a walk on
4.  Rocky- A Series of movies about a young underdog boxer from Philadelphia, who becomes the heavyweight champion.  There are about 5 or 6 movies in this series while all unique in a way, they reach a little. (training in siberia to fight Drago) at the end of the day Rocky Baboa lives up to his nickname, The Italian Stallion.
5.  Creed- The Rocky series had hit a wall several times, Michael B Jordan injects heart and soul into these movies where the best scenes don't necessarily have to do with boxing. (2 in this series) 
6.  Miracle
7.  Remember the Titans
8.  The Natural
9.  Rush
10.  The Fighter- A scrappy movie about a working class boxer
11.  The Longest Yard- Burt Reynolds creates a football team of prisoners to go against the guards. honorable mention, Adam Sandler remake.
12.  Ali
13.  Pride of the Yankees
14.  Chariots of Fire
15.  Hoosiers
16.  Little Big League 
17.  Bad News Bears
18.  Eight Men Out
19.  Moneyball
20.  Million Dollar Baby
21.  A League of their Own- There's no crying in baseball 
22.  Raging Bull
23.  The Sandlot       
24.  Seabiscuit
25.  The Natural

NYY Mount Rushmore

There are many, many great Yankees in history.  What else can we expect from a team that has 27 world championships in there history.  When you think of the Mount Rushmore of Yankee history and realize you can only pick four, it becomes a difficult task.  When doing this you have to think of the era's that they played in because you don't want to look at this through a microscope and just put the first four players you can think of up there.  If you just put the first four up on the mountain your just looking at the first 40ish years of Yankee history and forgetting about the next 80ish and hundreds of potential players.  For this great and proud franchise which started as the Yankees in 1913 some stand out.  Babe Ruth without question stands out as the first player on the mountain.  Ruth had an unbelievable career in the 1920's with home runs galore and he was a pretty good pitcher as well until he gave that up to focus on hitting.  For number two I think you can choose between Mantle, Gehrig and Dimaggio.  Mickey Mantle is regarded as one of the best switch hitting sluggers in history.  Lou Gehrig was the Iron Horse.  Joe D is best known for his 56 game hitting streak.  I'll go with Gehrig for number two.  The Next two are tough, according to my list, there are six players to choose two from.  On the list I have Yogi who has ten World Series rings as a manager and coach, "The Chairman of the Board" Whitey Ford.  You can also choose from Derek Jeter the first Yankee with 3,000 hits and Hall of Fame electie, Bill Dickey, Mariano Rivera the all time saves leader and Roger Maris set the single season home run record until it was broken in 98'.  With all of this being said the four I'm going to put on my New York Yankees Mount Rushmore are Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra and Derek Jeter.  There is no right answer here, I Just feel like those four are on the list for many different reasons and span multiple eras.                           

1. Babe Ruth               (stand alone)

2. Mickey Mantle
3. Lou Gehrig             (any order)
4. Joe Dimaggio 

5. Yogi Berra
6. Whitey Ford
7. Derek Jeter
8. Bill Dickey
9. Mariano Rivera
10. Roger Maris

honorable mention
11. Bernie Williams 
12. Thurman Munson
13. Reggie Jackson 
14. Ron Guidry

Lebron vs. Jordan, the Goat

In the NBA the only real player player comparison is Lebron James vs Michael Jordan.  The Lebron and Jordan era's are close enough (one after the other) that they're the only ones worth comparing, MJ's career spanned three decades from the mid 80's-early 2000's and Lebron's career went from the early 2000's to the present day.  First MJ showed us all his athleticism after winning numerous award in college at UNC including ACC freshman of the year.  MJ was drafted by the Chicago Bulls and despite having trouble early in his career, he was able to win three titles in his first stint with the team.    He retired early after the 93' season to sign with the Chicago White Sox and play in their minor league system, he wasn't a bad baseball player and probably would have been a replacement player had they been used during the 94' MLB strike.  MJ returned to to win three more titles with his 98' title performance considered one of the greatest finals clutch performances in history, he retired again after that 98' season only to make one more comeback.  Jordan's third comeback with the Washington Wizards was not as alustrus as his first two with no more titles and a balkey knee.  Lebron James skipped the college thing and was drafted by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers out of high school.  Lebron made a NBA Finals and won a couple MVP awards at the end of his first stint in Cleveland.  It was in Miami that Lebron really grew up and got his career rolling.  It was good for him to leave the comforts of home and win those two NBA championship and the MVP with the Heat.  He utamitaly returned to Cleveland to bring that city and franchise it's last championship trophy for now.  King James as he is sometimes referred to is now with the Los Angeles Lakers where they're trying to build a supporting cast around him for a final championship run.  In today's NBA you can't win without a two or three man supporting cast, MJ played before you needed support and Lebron had some when he went to Miami and when he came back to cleveland.  Through about the same number of games the numbers are pretty even except when it comes to Finals, as MJ is six for six and Lebron has only won three of eight (titles are where it counts).  MJ had the better prime of his career winning those six titles when I think the majority of the competition was better.  Jordan can walk down the street in his Air Jordan's and know he is the GOAT and that's good with him.                     

NFL Draft preview

The one major sport that is making news is football and thankfully it is, we need distractions.  The NFL draft will be held April 23rd-25th in las Vegas, in some format but at least we can argue over who gets picked where and by whom.  There is some talent on both the offensive and defensive line in this draft but no real name talent outside of, the three quarterbacks and edge pass rusher in the top 4.  Will Joe Burrow the senior quarterback from LSU be taken No. 1 by the Cincinnati Bengals, who are ready to move on from Andy Dalton or will they be swayed to trade the pick since I think Cincinnati needs more than just a quarterback.  Will the Washington Redskins who have been searching for a quarterback take Tua Tagovaiola after recovery from dislocating his hip, and may have a hard time staying healthy after multiple injuries, including his ankle during his career at Alabama.  Tua is also left handed which throws another interesting wrinkle into his draft status because you build your o-line from the blind side guard out.  If those are the first two players taken off the board, the Los Angeles Chargers who have the fourth pick and could take Justin Herbert, who I consider the most complete player in the draft, and the No. 1 quarterback.  The New York Giants whose biggest need is a pass rusher, hopefully they got the quarterback last year.  If Chase Young from Ohio State is still on the board I would take him, I don't think he an NFL ready product but he fills a need and he's teachable.  The Miami Dolphins have an interesting decision to make at no. 5, will they, who are probably closer to win now mode and have had an eye on Tua since day one trade up for him.  Three other interesting teams of note at the draft will be the Detroit Lions who are right on the cusp of winning but never have enough, do the New England Patriots draft a replacement for Tom Brady who signed with Tampa Bay and the Las Vegas Raiders who are moving into a new home and always like to make a splash.  The NFL draft will be interesting to say the least, will we have trades or will it just be a distraction.                   

#Senior dreams

From Sabrina Ionescu, Myles Powell, Udoka Azubuike, Kerry Blackshear .Jr, the entire Dayton Flyers basketball team, and every other NCAA student athlete whose Senior season was cut short due to the cancellation of the men's and women's NCAA tournaments.  The Coronavirus is bigger than sports but it has interrupted everyone's lives, including those NCAA student athletes whose dreams ended before a champion could be crowned.  With no NCAA tournaments or championships in any (winter or spring) collegiate sport their will be no buzzer beaters, no triple doubles, no home runs, no close finishes and no court storming.  Student athletes who have dreamt of nothing but a NCAA championship since birth, had those dreams ended early.  There was no clear favorite in this years men's tournament maybe it was Dayton's year or Seaton Hall or any of the other 68 teams that would have been in the tournament.  Sabrina Ionescu who is the all-time leader in triple doubles for the Pac-12 conference and the only collegiate player man or women to score 2,000, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds, who came back for her senior year won't get to hoist that championship trophy.  It must have been a weird feeling with a mix of emotions to either be playing or done with your conference tournament and hear that your season is over and your college basketball dreams have come to an end for 2020.  The NCAA might grant an extra year of eligibility to winter and spring athletes but that will pose roster problems with incoming athletes.  This has happened to every athlete in every school large or small in the country, remember this when you see a senior because their experience ended early.             

The Time the Sports World Stood Still

Sometimes sports as a whole serve a greater purpose, we are in one of those times.  There are hidden meanings in sports that serve as a pick me up.  As I sit here on what is supposed to be MLB opening Day, the world is changing.  With the onset of the (novel) Coronavirus, the sports world has been put on pause for the foreseeable future.  The NHL and NBA were at the end of their seasons and about to begin the playoffs, MLB shutdown spring training before beginning the regular season, NASCAR is postponing races, MLS is delaying, European soccer canceled games, the USMNT and USWNT cancelled games, golf has moved major events as has tennis, just this week the Olympics were postponed for a year and I've probably missed some. Sports is supposed to heal us as it did on 9/11, (I don't mean to compare the two 9/11 was a terrorist attack and the Coronavirus or Covid-19 is a debilitating flu like disease) they're outlet to getting away from our problems for 3 1/2 hours.  Without sports to distract us from the world's problems, all we have to hang our hats on is the 5pm news conference from the president and Dr. Faucci.  Instead of watching Gerrit Cole, Gary Sanchez and company lite up the Orioles or LeBron James score 40 points or the NCAA basketball tournament we're doing puzzles, reading books, watching your favorite shows and a news conference.  One of the few sports events happenings and the only major sporting event was NFL free agency.  Thankfully the NFL league year started, so that even though the league is not in season we have something other than the virus to talk about.  Now that free agency started we can discuss Tom Brady going To Tampa Bay or Philip Rivers to Indianapolis.  We also have the NFL Draft coming up in late April, the event's supposed to be in Las Vegas but the format might change.  In some way shape or form we'll find out where Joe Borrow, Tua Tugovailoa, Chase Young and company will wind up.  Sometime soon hopefully we'll have our sports back.  When we're reflecting on how our lives have changed, trying to get our lives and the economy back to a new normal, sports should be back to distract us for 3 1/2 hours.  When sports do comeback, we'll have a lot to choose from NHL and NBA playoffs, baseball, NASCAR, Tennis and more.  When sports finally do come back they will serve not only as entertainment but they will have a greater purpose, to heal.                       

Houston Astros apology attempt and proposed mlb playoff changes

The other day, four Houston Astros personnel came out to a press conference at spring training in order to apologize for their sign stealing scandal (in 2017), it was half hearted.  Owner Jim Crane, manager Dusty Baker (who wasn't even there), as well as players Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve showed up to offer an apology.  Crane opened by reading a prepared statement and then threw it to the plays who didn't even look like they wanted to be there, they stood up there for about 20 seconds each and read there prepared statements, Bregman actually sounded sincere and after these three read their statements it was Dusty Baker's turn for the bulk of the press conference the only problem was he wasn't around at the time.  This was just a waste of time if for the majority of the time your going to have your new manager trying to talk about the team's preparations for the season, when people are there to hear the people who were there apologize for sign stealing.  At the end they did take questions but still did not offer a specifics as to why this was not stopped, it was even said that this did not have an effect on baseball in the 2017 season.  If they don't think it had an effect just ask the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, the Astros last two opponents that year.  Why did they bother if all they were just going to do was read prepared statements and let your new manager carry the bulk of the press conference, when he's wasn't even here during the scandal.  If Thursday's attempt at an apology is the best the Astros and their PR departement could come up with, fire the PR department and don't offer anymore apologies until you hire a new one.  After the sorry excuse of a press conference was over the clubhouse opened and the players could talk to the media in a more comfortable environment, we still didn't get much but it was better than reading prepared statements from four people, one of which wasn't even there. 
Baseball announced this week that they want to expand their postseason.  Of the four major sports, outside of maybe football, the baseball regular season means something because the majority of teams do not get into the playoffs.  Baseball plays 162 regular season games and five teams get in, if you let more teams into the playoffs you're diluting the regular season.  Basketball and hockey play 81 games and let something like 16 teams in their playoffs, meaning their regular season is not as important.  Baseball is a great game and you don't want to dilute the postseason.                         

RIP Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant and his young daughter died in a helicopter accident last sunday.  Kobe was a hero to many in the basketball community and elsewhere.  He played his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers and although he had many iconic moments on the court, it was his inspiration to people in everyday life that had the biggest effect.  The Lakers played their first game since this tragedy last night and had a great ceremony in Kobe's memory.  This is not the end of honoring Kobe, his death has affected the all star game format and the Lakers can use this and inspiration to win a Championship. 

Super Bowl LIV

Sunday (tomorrow) in Miami the San Francisco 49ers will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.  The Kansas City Chiefs brought the Lamar Hunt (their owner and founder) trophy home to where it belongs two weeks ago for the first time in 50 years and are now ready to move on to the next trophy.  The Chiefs are fast and although the 49er defense might be better than what they have faced, KC will be slowed somewhat, I don't think they can fall behind 24-0 but whether they start fast or slow they'll be tough to slow down.  They love to pass whether it be on an RPO or out of 11 personnel with 3 or 4 wide receivers and Travis Kelce. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes can take any play and reset it with his legs, he has to be contained.  KC does need the ball to produce any sort of magic and getting enough offensive possessions is always the key especially when playing a run heavy team like the Niners.  San Francisco will do a better job of disguising the run out of different formations then the other teams the Chiefs have seen.  San Francisco is the more balanced team, in all phases of the game.  Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is out of the Patriot organization and is now paving his own path, I don't know if I trust him yet to bring his team back late in the fourth quarter.   This should be a very good game, a very close game and potentially high scoring.  I've liked the Chiefs all year and so I am going to take them in this one (-1) over the 49ers.  I'll say maybe 35-28 for a final and hopefully Andy Reid gets his Super Bowl and Chief kingdom gets one to.       

Eli Manning

Eli Manning called it quits this week, retiring from the only NFL organization he has ever known the New York Giants.  Eli who comes from a football family, his dad Archie played for the New Orleans Saints and brother Payton played for the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos.  This season when Eli was benched for rookie, and hopefully new quarterback Daniel Jones, he discovered he did not like being a backup and with no guaranteed starting jobs available it was called a career.  There is always something to be said for guys who play their entire careers for just one team.  He has over 200 consecutive starts and although he has just a .500 record as a starting quarterback he is a two time two time Superbowl Champion and MVP.  His best games came arguably in the biggest moments the Super Bowls against the New England Patriots and the NFC Championship game up at chilly Lambeau Field and many more.  With these career accomplishments, especially the two Super Bowls, I believe Eli will end up in Canton.  This upcoming season his #10 will be retired by the Giants and the number will not be worn again.   

MLB hall of fame

Derek Jeter got the call from the hall, that we all knew was coming this week.  Derek was never your prototypical five tool player, he was a lifetime .310 hitter, was never a home run hitter with only 260 lifetime, he didn't have the best range or the strongest arm, but when you add it all together it adds up to a Hall of Fame career.  When Derek was drafted it was said that the only place this guy is going is Cooperstown.  Derek who was born in New Jersey grew up in Michigan was drafted by the Yankees out of high school and signed on with the team, foregoing college at Michigan University.  His career did not get off to the smoothest start, with getting sent back to the minor leagues in 1995 and almost getting traded. Then in 1996 Derek won the AL rookie of the Year and the first of his five championships.  Derek was never about individual stats, he wanted to win, and win championships.  He played on some great teams which were in contention year in and year out, Derek only played in one home game that did not mathematically count, his last game in Pinstripes.  It meant a lot for the 14 time all-star who retired with the sixth most all time hits all time and the most my a Yankee, becoming the first with 3,000 hits which he did with a home run in a 5-5 game, to be named captain.  Derek had many career defining plays from the Flip in Oakland to his dive into the stands, to hit 3,000k and his last hit at Yankee Stadium.  He was a winner in every way and missed out on being a unanimous selection by one vote but that is just icing on the cake, he's still in.  He is now a family man and a team owner of the Miami Marlins and over seeing their rebuild.  In July he'll take his place in the Hall of Fame among the legends of the game.
Larry Walker who was drafted by the Montreal Expos but played most of his career for the Colorado Rockies was also elected to the Hall this week.  One could argue that Larry's career numbers were influenced by the altitude of Coors field although he continued to put up Hall of Fame numbers on the road. 

MLB sign stealing

I don't want to talk about this topic much longer, we'll survive this.  When the Houston Astros were accused of and then acquitted of using a center field camera with an elaborate set up which involved trash cans to steal their opponents signs.  The Boston Red Sox also did this on a slightly smaller scale.  So far three managers A.J hinch (Astros Manager), Alex Cora (Astros bench coach at the time and now former Red Sox manager) and Carlos Beltran (was hired to be the Mets manager and Astros player who was critical in the process) have lost their jobs.  We have three MLB teams that need managers and baseball is reeling.  I've said it once and i'll say it again sign stealing within the white lines is fine but when technology becomes involved it's illegal.  I hope this scandal doesn't go any because you would be opening a pandora's box that can't be closed, if you open up all sorts of investigations on other teams.  Did we investigate every player during the steroid era, do we investigate every single World Series losing team to make sure it wasn't thrown on purpose like the Black Sox.  Rob Manfred laid down the law and made an example of people and hopefully this will put a stop to this kind of thing, maybe players shouldn't be allowed back in the video room during play.  Players on these teams especially will have to answer questions about sign stealing when they get to spring training in about a month, hopefully their answers are reasonable.  We've gotten through scandals before and we will again, but for now let's get back to playing the game of baseball.           

Conference Championship Sunday

The NFL playoffs have been good football.  After four good games last week we'll decide who will participate in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday.  The AFC is first a 3pm, when the high flying Kansas City Chiefs will host the Tennessee Titans.  The Titans continued to impress last week by going into Baltimore and beating the top seeded Ravens behind Derrick Henry and his 195 rushing yards, It looked bleak in KC for about the first 17 minutes as the Chiefs fell behind early to the Houston Texans before out scoring them 51-7 over the final 40 minutes.  The Chiefs will host their second straight Conference Championship game, this team behind quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce can score fast, the Titans will run the ball behind Henry but this week they're going to need quarterback Ryan Tannehill to make a play and with what he has shown i don't know if he can lead a team to a Super Bowl.  I will take the Kansas City Chiefs (-7) over the Titans to advance to the Super Bowl.  Later Sunday we have the NFC Championship between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers these teams got here in less dramatic fashion with the 49ers dominating the Vikings and the Packers coming out on top in a well played game with the Seahawks.  San Francisco has been the most dominant team all season behind quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and a good defensive line, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have had somewhat of a resurgence although I still worry about Rodgers not being on from the start and the defense showing up.  I'll take the San Francisco 49ers (-7.5) over the Green Bay Packers in a game the Packers will win because the 49ers will not cover the 7.5, this game will be closer 20-17 or so.                     

NFL divisional weekend

We're here the last weekend of NFL football on both Saturday and Sunday, unfortunately the games Sunday are late but it's football.  After a great weekend of football last we with two overtime games, divisional weekend with all large point spreads outside of the late game Sunday can't be as good can it.  The big news from last week is the Patriots lost.  Let's get started in game number 1 the Minnesota Vikings visit the San Francisco 49ers in the bay area.   Last week we learned we can trust kirk Cousins and the Vikings cousins, although Minnesota might have a little magic, it will run out this week, I'll take the 49ers (-7) to advance to the NFC championship.  The Tennessee Titans who beat the Patriots last week will head to Baltimore.  Although the Titans will run the ball and probably look good doing it, the Baltimore Ravens (-10) are the more complete team here, and will move to the AFC championship.  Kansas City will host the Houston Texans who needed a second half comeback and overtime to beat the Buffalo Bills.  It is now or never for Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs who do not have a good playoff record.  This is the opportunity for the Chiefs (-10) and they advance to the AFC championship.   In maybe the best game of the weekend the Green Bay Packers host the Seattle Seahawks.  Green Bay's defense doesn't always show up and Aaron rodgers has looked a little off this year, Seattle is not your normal #5 seed they were a yard away from winning the division and now Beast Mode is back in full.  I'll go with the Seattle Seahawks (+4.5) on the road in Lambeau Field, to advance to the NFC championship.     

New York Knicks

There needs to be a NBA basketball pulse in New York.  I am in my 30's and the Knicks have not been relevant in my lifetime.  This is a proud franchise that is alienating star players and coaches from coming to NYC.  Jim Dolan has run this franchise into the ground and Steve Mills, Scott Perry and the revolving door of coaches has not helped.  Knick fans need and excuse to be loud and turn Madison Square Garden into a real home court advantage.  New York has good fans and they will show up to watch their team, and the Knicks need a pulse.       

Wild Card weekend, NFL

After another topsy turvy, unpredictable NFL season it's playoff time, we'll soon see who will be matched up in the SuperBowl.  After a season that saw Andrew Luck retire, Drew Brees set all kids of records, Marshawn Lynch come back, the Oakland Raiders play their last season in Oakland before moving to Las Vegas and the LA Chargers and LA Rams playing their final seasons before opening their shared stadium in LA.  It's now playoff time where the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, and Green Bay Packers have all earned top seeds and will be off until next weekend.  First up we have wildcard weekend, in the first game we have the Buffalo Bills going up against the Houston Texans in Houston.  I believe the Bills can be dangerous at only I believe 2.5 point dogs on the road, but I won't give them the win here against a somewhat playoff experienced Houston squad which will activate J.J Watt for this game.  I'll take Houston in game#1.  In Saturday's night cap the Tennessee Titans will visit the New England Patriots who will be playing on wildcard weekend for the first time in 10 years.  By the numbers this shoulld be a pretty evenly matched game, but although this is not your normal Pateroit squad, I think the Patriots with the experience, Tom Brady and being at home win this one by maybe 10 or more.  I'll take the Patriots.  On Sunday in the first game the Minnesota Vikings will visit the New Orleans Saints.  I am picking Drew Brees and the Saints at home in this one.  In the Sunday night cap the Seattle Seahawks visit the Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia barely won their division at 9-7 and were hamstrung by injuries last week on the other side of the ball Russell Wilson is having another good year and now Beast Mode is back.  In this one I am picking a road team and the Seattle Seahawks.  Not much separates any of these NFL playoff teams.           

NFL playoff Power rankings:
1. Baltimore Ravens
2. New Orleans Saints
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. San Francisco 49ers
5. Seattle Seahawks
6. Green Bay Packers
7. New England Patriots
8. Buffalo Bills
9. Minnesota Vikings
10. Houston Texans
11. Tennessee Titans
12. Philadelphia Eagles